Sheriff: False wall hides 5,000 packs of unstamped cigarettes

Police inspecting a West Side market discovered nearly 5,000 packs of unlicensed cigarettes concealed in a hidden storage area behind a false wall, according the Cook County Sheriff's office said.

Sheriff's police and inspectors from the Cook County Department of Revenue were checking tax stamps on cigarettes at Tom's Food Mart, 3553 W. Roosevelt Rd. in Lawndale around 12:15 p.m., according to the sheriff's office.

As they walked into the store, authorities saw a man pass through the false wall behind a bookshelf in a closed off, unlocked area, police said.

The opening led to a hidden storage area containing 4,977 packs of cigarettes without proper county tax stamps, the sheriff's office said. They confiscated and the store was fined $128,425.